Know Where You Come From
by GravityNeko
Summary: Legacy Era: Kol Skywalker and his son, Cade Skywalker, discuss Skywalker family history.
1. I Wish I'd Known Him

**A/N: This story follows more of the actual timeline... Cade Skywalker and Kol Skywalker come from the Legacy comics. Read them; they're awesome. **

**I'm n****ot sure if Ben is Cade 's Grandfather (its alluded to) but that's the way I'm going to go with…**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Star Wars (I hate these disclaimers, its a fan fic of course we don't claim ownership).**

**.**

**Part 1**

"Whatever happened to grandfather..." Twelve year-old Cade asked, fiddling with a tool

Kol Skywalker looked over his shoulder, his green eyes shaded by flame-colored hair. "Your grandfather?" He reached out a hand. "Would you pass me the hydrospanner?"

He passed the tool to his father. "Yes, my grandfather, Ben." Cade was ultimately stubborn and wouldn't let the matter go. Kol had been putting off telling the boy about his grandfather for awhile. Since Cade had never really gotten to know Ben Skywalker, it was even more of a mystery to him. "He died."

Cade huffed. "I know that. How?"

"He was killed."

"In battle?"

"Yes."

Cade waited a beat. "Who? Who killed him?"

"A Sith."

He narrowed his green eyes. "But I thought they were gone, great-grandfather destroyed them."

Kol sighed and got up from his crouched position near the Headhunter.

"So it was thought. Then again, my grandfather thought the Sith were gone when Anakin Skywalker brought balance to the Force; then came the Lost Tribe."

"The one great-grandfather destroyed." Cade insisted.

Kol smiled sadly. "He didn't do it alone."

The pre-teen ignored this and sat down on the toolbox, staring up at his father. Seeing the look, the Jedi Master continued:

"Yes, the Jedi believed they had destroyed the Sith, but all were not gone." He paused. "My father encountered the last of the Lost Tribe, an old love of his by the name of Vestara Khai."

"He was in love with a Sith." He sounded slightly disgusted.

"They say love is blind—and it was for him." Kol sat down finally, cross-legged. "She fooled him, but he soon learned this, and realized she would never be a Jedi."

"She wanted to be a Jedi? A Sith?" Cade snorted. "That would never happen."

"Your grandfather believed it could." He explained. "But...she betrayed him…and the Jedi."

His son gave a little derisive laugh. "Bet he felt stupid. You can't trust a Sith."

"Cade." Kol reprimanded.

"Well, you can't, right?"

"The Yuzzhan Vong couldn't be trusted. Now, look what's happening now."

"The Yuzzhan Vong are different," He played with the handle on the toolbox, pushing his blonde hair out of his eyes. "They're not Sith."

Kol sighed, not wanting to argue this point.

"Do you want me to finish this story, Cade?" He asked with a stern voice.

"Yes, Father." He hung his head. "Sorry..."

"Thank you..." He cleared his throated. "Now, where was I?"

Cade answered, "Vestara Khai. The Jedi betrayer."

Kol ignored this.

"As I was saying before, my father encountered Vestara Khai on a mission on some Outer Rim planet—I can remember which. She confronted him and made some snide remark about my grandfather—your great-grandfather—for he had died year before. This of course angered Ben. He knew she was trying to provoke him, but wouldn't be. He wouldn't fall to the Darkside, not since Jacen Solo tried to turn him.

"To goad him, she lashed out with her saber, taunting him about the Jedi's ultimate failure during the Battle with the Lost Tribe. When my father couldn't be goaded into anger, she dealt a fatal blow and harangued him about his mother. Your grandfather lost composure…That one subject you never brought up with him—and certainly not in the manner she had.

"Ben could see that the Vestara he thought he knew, that he thought he could change, and did not, had only become uglier and embittered with the Darkside of the Force. He let his anger get the best of him…"

"He tried to strike her in anger then."

"Yes and no. He realized what was happening and reigned himself back." He took a breath. "He did strike her, but it was not out of hatred. He knew she had to be destroyed, because she was a threat to the galaxy."

"She was just one Sith."

"One Sith who tricked him and Luke years ago."

Cade seemed to ponder this.

"And Abeloth was still at large at the time. It took years to find the fame Monolith Dagger."

"So he struck her down."

"For the good of the galaxy." Kol finished. "At least he tried to..."

"She killed him."

"Yes, she made one more jab at Mara Jade Skywalker…and this time, he did lose composure… Khai saw an opening and took it, saying, _I knew I would have to kill you, Ben….What a fool you were_.

"He fell dead."

Kol nodded.

"How do you know this?" Cade narrowed his eyes.

"Because I was there..." Kol swallowed. "..I ran her through with by blade. She died by my hands..."

"How old were you?"

"Fourteen." *

"Oh."

"The same age my father was when he lost his mother, your great-grandmother."

"It was tragic for me….I lost my father…and my mother died of an illness she'd contracted early on before my father's death." He sighed. "I'm sorry you never knew them, Cade." He ran a hand through the boy's blond hair. "I was lucky to know my grandfather. He was a good man."

"I wish I'd know both of them. Grandfather and great-grandfather."

"I think, you would have liked them, Cade…They were great Jedi—and men." He gave him a pointed look. "That's why I instill you honor and respect. I want you to be a great Jedi too...I want you to be..."

He smirked slightly, finishing for his father. "A Skywalker."

"Yes, grab hold of your heritage, Cade." Kol gripped his son's shoulder. "Be proud of who you are, of where you come from. You're of good stock. Never forget that."

He nodded.

"Now, speaking of family…Are you ready to give me the family history assignment I gave you?"

"Yes, Sir."

"Good. Start from the top…" He sat back, folding his arms over his chest. "Our family started its humble beginnings where?"

Cade grinned. "That's easy: Tatooine."

.

**(End Part 1)**

Asterisk (side note): Cade lost his father, Kol at the exact age, and it was in a battle against a Sith as well. (freaky ain't it)

**A/N: I had this idea…this one is based more on the actual timeline…sort of. **


	2. Was She Worth It?

**A/N: Ah, Luke's love for Mara Jade from another perspective. **

**.**

After Cade had finished reciting the family history, dating back to his great-great- grandmother, Shmi Skywalker—who later became Lars when she married Cliegg Lars—all the way to his grandfather, Ben Skywalker. He included off shoots of his family, including the Lars, the Organas, the Solos, the Nabries, and the House of Hapes.

"What do you suppose great-grandfather saw in great-grandmother?"

"Why do you ask that?" Kol looked curiously at his boy.

"I mean, didn't he know what it would mean?"

"You mean because she was the Emperor's Hand?"

Cade shook his head furiously. "No, that's not what I meant."

Recognition dawned in his father's eyes.

"His despair when she died."

"Despair is of the Darkside." Cade murmured the well-known Jedi verse. He looked at Kol "Why would he take that risk? Why would be risk his soul for one woman?"

"Why does this concern you so, Cade?"

"I always heard that great-grandfather was this invincible warrior. That he was wise and strong in the Force." He frowned. "I guess, I just supposed he would have a stronger will than that, you know—for someone so strong that is."

"You wouldn't be alive if he didn't fall to the temptation called love." Kol reminded with a chuckle.

Cade frowned once more.

"Love isn't of the Darkside, Son, though it can affect a being deeply."

"Was she worth it?" His son asked bluntly. "Was she worth risking _that _for?"

"Maybe not risking it for, but she was worth his love." Kol replied slowly. "Worth his admiration. She complimented him well." He saw his boy about to speak and finished with, "And completed him as well, even with the Force, he believed he would have been half a man. His wife gave him something that Force could never give—she gave him love."

Cade rolled his eyes at this sappy dribble.

Kol ignored this very teenage-like response.

"Most of all, she was also the primary reason he stayed on the straight and narrow."

He raised his brows interestedly. "Really?"

"You see, Luke always felt his sole duty was to the Force and the galaxy."

"But isn't that a Jedi's purpose?"

"It is. But Luke lost sight of the truth." He paused. "He lost sight of his humble beginnings. He saw himself as the only being capable of saving the galaxy; Mara Jade was the first to point this out, saying he was being arrogant. She also felt he took the Force for granted along the way; he thought of it as this great power he wielded instead of himself being an instrument of the Force." Kok grinned. "She was the first one to knock him down a peg or two—the one person in the galaxy that wasn't fawning over him. Not that he approved of such attentions anyhow."

He placed a loving hand on his son's shoulder.

"So you see, Cade, we owe quite a bit to her. She helped shape him when he would stumble—and she cared enough to be angry with him when he failed at Byss, serving the reborn Emperor.

"Again it was his arrogance that led him to believe he was the only one capable of saving the galaxy. His wife would often complain earlier on—before she became his wife—that Luke had something of savior complex. He wasn't arrogant as Anakin had once been, but he did see the galaxy as his personal duty; even when he had other trained Jedi to aid him.

"He didn't mean to fall in love, Cade, but he did. Their paths were so different, neither their allies nor enemies could have foreseen them converging as they did. The engagement and marriage announcement came as quite a shock to all.

"But she was worth it, she was his rock. Her strength kept him walking the straight and narrow path, and though when she died, he fell slightly to the wayside, most believed their marriage could never have been a mistake. Mara had helped define who he was."

Cade was silent for a long time.

"Cade?"

"She sounds like a pretty awesome lady…" He smiled that charming Skywalker smile. "Will you tell me more about her?"

"If you'd like..."

"I would."

**.**

**A/N: So, looks like Cade might be taught more about Mara Jade… We'll see…folks. **


	3. Heart of Fire

**A/N: Wow, thanks for the encouraging reviews folks. I find that having future generations talk about the Skwyalker's past is fun.**

**.**

**Part 3**

"Now, Mara Jade that was a woman…" Kol spoke with a grin.

Cade looked upon his father expectantly.

"She was cunning, intelligent, resourceful, incredibly strong, and also quite beautiful." He looked to Cade, turning back to the Temple, gesturing for Cade to follow him. "Her beauty and strength were represented equally by her body and spirit—for it was not merely only the physical.

"The beginning of her life was fraught with peril and darkness, but she was a good person…an innocent person, who had been deceived by Palpatine. She was fiercely loyal to those she became close to, even though she was still emotionally reclusive. It wasn't easy to break the hold Palpatine had over her mind, even after she fulfilled his "last command".

"Her dearest and only friend at the time was your great-grandfather. She was loyal to her crewmates, but she considered none of them close enough to call be called _friend_. As such, Luke was, in fact, her best friend. He understood her like no one else and he accepted her regardless of the things she had done and who she had been before he'd met her. She called his acceptance into question at times, telling him he was naïve. Luke, however, liked to think of himself as optimistic: that everyone deserved a second chance, if they were willing to repent.

"In early days, she was one to mock him and his way of life…Luke took these mockings in stride because he knew it was just Mara trying to put up walls around herself to keep people out. The more he tried to tears down those walls the more she would reinforce them. Her sharp tongue was merely a coping/defense mechanism for her; a way to let her feelings never get the best of her."

He laughed then.

"Many people often wondered how Luke put up with Mara…Not only had she tried to kill him in the past, but she was brutal verbally towards him. Mara made no attempt to reign herself in when it came to Luke—some thought him crazy or a masochist for allowing her to berate him constantly. But her insults…they never seemed to faze him."

"Because he understood."

Kol nodded. "Exactly."

"Of, course, under those veiled insults she would throw at him; there was a woman who was healing. A beautiful and strong woman who held her friend dear enough to berate him when she thought he was doing wrong. Her jibes and snide ways were just an attempt to show that she cared for him, though not many people saw it that way. She also grew to trust him, even if she thought his judgment was suspect at best, which is why she became angry at him over the Byss incident."

Realization dawned on Cade. "She respected him." They had just entered the Great Hall.

"Yes…"

"She respected him and he got her to trust in him, in others, in herself…" He sighed. "And he failed her….she felt it was that way, right?" He eyed his father.

"Yes, to Mara Jade, everything she believed in and he led her to believe, was a lie by his one act of weakness. She felt betrayed and disappointed in him all at once. That's why every time he tried to get her to join the academy she turned him down. She cared for him in that roundabout way of hers, but at the same time, it was because of how she felt that she lashed out at him after Byss. Still, they had a deep understanding of one another; a very special camaraderie.

"And despite the way she treated him, he never gave up on her. He was always willing to try for her."

When they had been walking down the Great Hall for a long while, Kol motioned for his son to step into an empty classroom with him.

"Because she had potential in the Force?"

He gestured for Cade to sit down in front of a row of dual monitors. The boy did so, swiveling the chair to face him. Cade looked sideways at the screen then back at his father.

"That, and because she was his dearest friend." He amended. "They enjoyed being around eachother, though Mara would have never admitted to being at ease in his presence. When she was around him, the best was brought out. People would wonder, but Mara and Luke didn't care. Their relationship was built on their unusual enjoyment of each other's company. The more time she was around Luke, the more she began to open up. This of course teased her emotions, it confused her, and she was never very sure what drove her to want to be around him."

Cade leaned forward, hands dangling between his legs.

"You seem to talk about her and great-grandfather a lot together. Is it because she was his wife?"

"No, it's just that…somehow you can't talk about Mara Jade Skywalker, and not talk about Luke Skywalker."

He turned to the terminal finally and began to pull up a data file, logged deep within the systems mainframe. His fingers moved quickly over keys, and he clicked on a folder marked "Mara Jade Skywalker". Once he had the data up on the screen, Kol turned back to his son.

"Of course, Mara Jade Skwyalker's emotions were just a part of what made her who she was."

He clicked on a file; a 3D image appeared on the screen. It was one of a slender, light-skinned human female with fiery red hair and dazzling jade eyes. She was dressed in traditional Jedi robes whose design had been cut to form to her body. She wore a beige tunic with a blue, fabric waist belt on top of grey trousers, blank knee high boots graced her feet. **(1)** She looked every bit of a Jedi except she brought a hint of grace and class to the ensemble. Her face was unblemished and had a silkly look to it. Mara was half-smiling/smirking. The youth drew a stunned breath. Cade had to admit that the woman before his eyes was absolutely gorgeous.

"I guess her looks didn't hurt either." He remarked playfully.

Kol gazed at the image and smiled. "No, I don't suppose they did." He clicked over to her bio.

Another image popped up, this one with the woman in a tight-fitting black top and pants, a utility belt cinched at her narrow waist. Her hand was rested against her left thigh, grazing the pummel of her lightsaber. Her red hair was wilder and just as fiery as the previous image. Again she wore that trademark smile/smirk.

"Would you believe she was fifty six around this time?" Kol mused.

"You're lying." Cade accused.

His father frowned. "Now, Cade, it's not polite to accuse your father of lying— nor is it respectful."

His boy fidgeted. "Sorry…It's just that…" He gestured. "Well, look at her!"

Kol grinned. "Good genes."

Cade pulled a sour face.

"Some even speculated that she was a Force-witch, who sapped Luke's vitality and youth from him while she remained remarkably young looking."

"Force-witch?" The pre-teen arched a brow. "Some people will believe anything."

"Some people are just that vicious." Kol corrected.

He clicked on her timeline.

"Some people were never keen on the idea of your great-grandmother wedding your great-grandfather." He slid the boy a look, stopping at a particular part in the timeline. "Thought she wasn't good enough for someone so illustrious… After all, he _was_ loved by many."

He had stopped his scrolling.

"She proved them wrong though. Mara Jade Skywalker made herself worthy based on her own merit—and she didn't even care if anyone cared for her and what they thought of her. She became a well-respected Jedi Master in time during and after the Yuzzhan Vong and proved herself a worth ally and champion of the galaxy. She was courageous and loyal and trustworthy. A fearsome and cunning warrior. Even when she was burdened with child, she did not give in when the galaxy was at its all time low. She did not complain or use her pregnancy as an excuse. She kept fighting, much to the dismay of her husband. Your great-grandmother remained strong, even when the coomb spores threatened to take her life and that of their unborn child.

"Mara Jade Skywalker would always keep fighting, for she found that giving up wasn't an option. To quote her: _As long _as _I'm fighting, I'm not __dying__**.**__ And I'm not done __fighting __just yet._"** (2)**

Silence hung between them for a moment as Cade soaked in the information.

"Well…What do you think?"

Cade chewed the inside of his mouth.

"I can see why you speak so fondly of her." He smiled agreeably. "She was pretty amazing, wasn't she?"

"That she was, Son." He patted the boy's shoulder.

More silence.

"You know what?"

Concern overtook Kol's features. "What, Cade?"

"I think I understand a lot better why great-grandfather loved her."

**.**

**Notes:**

**(1) This is an image by SoCalTrojanSoCalTrojan on Deviantart. The piece is titled Mara Jade Skywalker. **

**(2) Quote by Michael A. Stackpole**

**A/N: Yes, Mara is a special lady…and I'm glad Cade finally sees why. **


End file.
